eight-hundred and forty-five
by Star Josherson
Summary: AU. They were fourteen when Wall Maria fell – age swap, drabbles.
1. Eren I

A/N: A 'what if.'

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**_eight-hundred and forty five_**

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_Eren_

When he's a boy of merely ten years old he remembers telling his parents the dream of joining the Scouting Legion his eyes shining at the prospect. He has the hope, the dream of going beyond those walls to see the lands of the countless tales his best friend Armin has told him from an old dusty book that used to belong to his grandfather. He wants to see the expanse body of water that is called the Sea, he wants to fly the skies in a machine they call an aeroplane and he wants to travel the world unknown.

His mother Carla tries to discourage the notion, telling him of the dangers that await him if he dares go beyond those walls. But he argues back his eyes full of a feeling he cannot explain, a burning and a longing he cannot extinguish. His father Grisha merely remains in silence simply hearing the arguing between the two, having a contemplative look on his face and he doesn't even interfere when his wife tells him to say something about their son's impossible dream.

Nor does he ever quite forget the sad smile that appears on his father's face his head shaking on a negative, _"He has inherited the wanderlust of __**his**__ ancestors more so than mine. One day, Carla, one day not even you or I can stop him..."_

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R&R


	2. Armin II

A/N: A boy dreams the impossible.

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_Armin_

He grows up reading a tale that is centuries old from a book belonging to his grandfather. It's a book that has been transcribed word by word, paragraph by paragraph and passed down to his family generation to generation. _"It's a story older than this old man,"_ he recalls his grandfather saying as his eyes crinkles with a smile. _"It's an old tale, a legend, but __**remember**__, Armin, in every legend there's a __**truth**__ in it."_

The book speaks of an era, centuries ago, centuries before the walls were ever built, that was in its golden age of innovations in art, science, literature and philosophy. It talks about how mankind had reached the power of flight and dominated the skies, the land, the sea, it revels on how great their technology had reached new heights, but it also talks about how their knowledge let to their own downfall.

It talks about how great that world was, the vegetation, the different climates, animals that he's never seen or heard about, but what captivates him the most is to read about a large body of water called the Sea. Is filled with nothing but salt and it's the color of the blue sky in the distance, emerald sometimes, crystalline when you're in it, gold in the sunset and silver at night. There's small or big pieces of land called islands and they're in the Sea.

And when he tells Eren, his best friend, the one who has the same eyes as his, the same passion from going beyond those walls and reaching those magnificent shores, of flying the blue skies in an aeroplane, he feels confident, secure that they both will do it and if possible… they'll bring Mikasa too with them! They'll be explorers, discoverers, inventors! They will bring knowledge to mankind and they will be considered heroes!

At least that was the dream when he was growing up, but that doesn't stop him from believing that it's out there, because there is truth in his grandfather's word, _"… in every legend there's a __**truth**__ in it."_

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R&R


	3. Mikasa III

A/N: She has the will to protect the dreams of her two boys.

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_Mikasa_

She stops being a child the day she kills the last man of her mother's kidnappers. The day she sees the world with new eyes, eyes that know everyone's life is callous, cruel and merciless in this cold world. She learns that day the motto that keeps her going, the goal that burned her like brand. _'Fight! Fight! Fight!,'_ it says. _'Fight for what? Fight to win! Fight for what you care the most! Fight because you have the will to live! Fight for who you are! And fight because you're alive!'_

And she does fight. _'Fight every day, fight to protect.'_ She fights to take care of what's left of her family, _Eren _and _Armin_. _Eren_ comes first, because he's the origin behind what she became. He's the reason she lives and breathes. He's the one that saved her life and she intends to repay that debt back. She's his shadow, his guardian angel and her best friend. She protects him, because she doesn't want to lose more _family_. She fights for him because he's her _brother_, _her little __**brother**_. And no one messes with him, but her.

_Armin_ is the foundation of whole. He is reason and he's logic. He finds sense in everything and he's the only one they are willing to listen, because they know when Armin's right, he's right. No if's and don'ts. And if he's wrong, he's wrong, because even smart people make mistakes and the blonde knows that. She doesn't understand how a boy so unique, so different from others can consider himself useless. She doesn't comprehend how his eyes sparkle with the same sense of determination Eren has when they both speak of the outside world as if it was some sort of statue on a pedestal.

She doesn't understand, no, but that doesn't stop her from protecting them both. Because Eren can't live without Armin nor can Armin live without Eren. They are both feathers of the same wing, they have a bond beyond anything, ties that destiny itself weaved together and it is her duty to protect it all.

_Even…_

Even if she has to _open_ _**Pandora's Box**_ to _protect_ them both…

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R&R


	4. Turning Points IV

A/N: Eren makes a decision.

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_Turning Points_

He's twelve when he brings the topic of joining the Scouting Legion once more to his parents. His mother instantly shuts it down the moment he talks about it and his father just fixes his glasses with his index finger. "But I'm _old_ enough to join!" he argues.

"That doesn't mean it's dangerous, Eren," retorts Carla. "Have you seen what happened to those men on their last expedition?"

Of course, he has _seen it!_ Everyone has! But that doesn't stop him nor repel him from joining of what he has been dreaming for so long. He's tired, jaded and restless of running around in the same place beating up bullies with his sister Mikasa for daring to mess with Armin, lying on the same grass for years and seeing the same faces of the people of the Shinganshina District. He knows the place like the back of his hands, just like the place knows him. He needs something new, something that will make his blood sing at the thrill of adventure.

He needs to _join_ the Scouting Legion.

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Things take a turn for the worse when the arguing between him and his mother keeps escalating, their relationship as mother and son slowly deteriorating, while the bond with his father strengthens more and more with each passing day. The catalyst being the day his father showed him his study down the basement.

He can't ignore this _feeling_, this _burning_ he feels more so than he has ever felt in his entire life and his mother doesn't understand that. She doesn't understand his constant attempts of him trying to ignore the calling in his blood, she doesn't get that it's for her sake only that he tries, but this is something no one can take away.

"_This is your __**heritage**__, Eren," he remembers his father Grisha explaining. "This is the __**blood**__ of our ancestors. This is what we __**are**__."_

_He looks at his hands and then at his father. Now, he understands the secrecy, the outings, everything makes sense now. This is something only he and his father know. Not Armin, not Mikasa, not even his mother know, just him and Grisha Jaeger, his father. There is only one question left in his mind and he voices it out loud. "But, vater, are __**we**__ really __**monsters**__?"_

_The older man fixes his glasses and chuckles ruffling his hair. "Silly, the real monsters are the ones who can't control their impulses causing trouble wherever they go, even though they are powerful. But I have faith in you, mein sohn, I have faith that you will change everything for __**us**__."_

"_What do you mean, vater?" He asks his brow furrowing in confusion. His father has that faraway look in his eyes again and the man simply shakes his head looking at him with a cryptic smile on his face._

"_You'll understand __**someday**__, Eren, you'll __**see**__."_

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The next morning, he meets up with his friends and tells them of his decision. He even tries to convince them to join with him, because he even can't live without them. Mikasa is his restraint and guardian, while Armin is his reason and logic. They're part of him, just like he is part of them. They're part of the whole and he'll be damned if they don't come along.

Eren rests his head on the grass looking at the blue skies thoughtfully. "If your answer is yes, then we meet here in two days."

He gets up and walks away never looking back. He already made _his_ decision, now it's _theirs._

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R&R


End file.
